By Yunus S Saliu
The Minister of Tourism and Culture (MOTC), on Wednesday 8th May 2024 inaugurated a new governing board member for the Gambia Tourism Board to oversee the affairs of the institution for the next three years.
In his inaugural speech, Honorable Minister Abdoulie Jobethanked the newly appointed board members for accepting the challenge of becoming part of the board.
He emphasised to them his focus, saying, is on marketing and promotion of Destination Gambia as it is in line with the national development plan called ‘Yiriwa’ and also in line with the GTBoard Act 2011.
Minister Jobe therefore tasked the board members to look into issues that are posing a challenge to the tourism sector such as ensuring that the beaches are clean, providing solar street lights around the beaches, and ensuring that there is enough security to patrol the beaches.
However, he noted that the governing council would help to guide the GTBoard management to operate within the laws of the land and be a pillar for the management to lean on to execute their functions as expected.
In addition, he assured them of his office’s good support and open-door policy for any support they might need during their term as members of the board.
Speaking on behalf of the members, Samba Batch Fye who is now serving as chairman of the board for the second time consecutively thanked the authorities for availing them opportunity to serve as board members,
Other members of the board include Francis A. Njie, Ida Cham Njai,
Representatives from The Gambia Civil Aviation Authority- GCAA and that of The Gambia Investment & Export Promotion Agency (GIEPA), will serve as ex-officio board members. George Innis of The Gambia Tourism Board is the secretary to the governing council, while Mrs. Cordu L. Jabang-Senghore, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, chaired the ceremony.
